


October 18th

by margaerystark



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 04:03:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2094990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/margaerystark/pseuds/margaerystark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robb asks Margaery to come home with him after a school dance, and things don't go exactly as he'd hoped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	October 18th

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rebeccavis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccavis/gifts).



_Oct. 18_

_I caught her looking at me today. I know –wow- big deal. But it was nice. She has the most beautiful smile and eyes – everything, really. But I really love how her cheeks go all round when she laughs – when I can make her laugh. I wish I could muster the courage to ask her out, but I’m completely hopeless when it comes to this girl stuff. And there’s no way I’m asking Theon for advice because he’d probably say something terribly embarrassing to her if I do. I’m determined to work up enough nerve to ask her to dance tonight to at least one song. She’s amazing, and I don’t want to miss my chance – if I even have one._

* * *

“Do you want to come home with me?”

He’s not sure what makes him ask the question, the words spilling from his lips before he has time to even think about what he’s just offered. But she looks so gorgeous in her gold and blue dress, her curls falling in soft ringlets around her face, her smile sending his heart racing.

He flushes red when her brow furrows and she pulls away from him. “What exactly are you implying?” she asks, looking offended.

“Oh… No! I didn’t mean… I just-” He stops, starting again before he truly makes a fool of himself. “We can have some popcorn and watch a movie… or whatever you want. No strings attached. I just really want to spend more time with you.”

Her face relaxes, and she nods. “Can we stay for one more dance?” she queries. He doesn’t know how anyone could say no to her.

He’s grateful that the next song the DJ plays is a slow one, though he’s pretty sure his brain stops working entirely when she slips her arms around his neck and nestles slightly against his chest. He tentatively places his hands on her waist, and though he’s more nervous than he’s ever been, he thinks she makes things easy and comfortable. Halfway through the song he realizes his chin is resting on top of her head and she’s quietly humming along, and he’s suddenly filled with an overwhelming rush of affection.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispers, his mouth running laps around his brain again.

She draws back, her eyes wide as she looks up at him. She answers with a nod again, and he leans forward, letting their lips meet in a gentle kiss. Her lips are warm and soft, and she smells like flowers. His heart gives a leap when she sighs against his mouth, her fingers playing with his curls and making goosebumps rise on his skin. His whole head is buzzing as he gets lost in her, wishing the moment could never end.

Whey they do pull back, she gives a tiny giggle, her gaze falling to the ground, her cheeks pink. “I’m sorry,” she says quietly, “That was… You’re my first kiss.”

“You’re mine,” he tells her, giving her waist a small squeeze as he looks at her in awe. She laughs again and lifts her head to leave a peck on his lips, and he’s filled with a warmth he’s never felt before.

When they leave the school gymnasium hand in hand, Jon gives him a knowing grin that he tries to ignore. He can’t help the smile that forms on his own face, however. He just danced with the girl he’s been crushing on since the beginning of the school year, shared his first kiss with her, and is taking her home. He’s certain he’ll never badmouth high school dances again.

 -

He doesn’t realize until they pull into the driveway of his house – he’s brought a girl home to meet his parents for the first time. He’s nervous as he opens the passenger door for her, but she doesn’t seem to notice, thanking him and looping her arm through his as they make their way inside.

His parents are watching television in the living room by themselves; his other siblings asleep in their respective rooms by now, he’s sure. His dad raises his eyebrows when he sees his son isn’t alone, and already he’s embarrassed.

“Mum, Dad, this is Margaery,” he introduces her, hoping they won’t ask why he went to the dance without a date and returned home with one, “She’s in my religion, history, and Valyrian classes with me. She’s an exchange student – from the Reach.”

“Nice to meet you, Margaery,” Catelyn spoke up with a smile, “What made you decide to come study in Winterfell?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Stark,” Margaery replies, “My older brother studied in the Stormlands for a few years, and he absolutely loved it. I wanted to venture a bit further from home and experience a different culture than mine. Winterfell is beautiful. I can’t wait to see snow for the first time.”

He grins, questioning why he was so anxious earlier. Margaery is wonderful, and he’s confident his parents already think so as well. “We were just going to go up to my room and watch a movie on my laptop,” he tells them, “I hope that’s alright.”

“That’s fine, son. Just try not to wake your siblings up. Arya was particularly hard to bargain with tonight,” Ned remarks.

“Of course, Dad. We’ll be down when it’s over so I can take Margaery home.”

She doesn’t let go of his arm as they make their way up the stairs and into his bedroom, and he invites her to take a seat on his bed as he fetches his laptop.

“I like your room,” she tells him, looking around. He watches as her eyes dart to the snow globe on his shelf with an intricately crafted weirwood at its center.

“Thank you,” he says in reply, placing his computer on his bed in front of her before nodding to the snow globe, “That’s one of my favourite places in Winterfell… the godswood, I mean. It’s so close to here that the heart tree’s practically in our backyard. I know you worship the new gods, but I can take you there one day if you like.”

She nods her head. “I would like that a lot. I loved learning about the old ways in our religion class. I wish we would have spent more time on that unit, but I suppose everyone around here already knows about all that.”

“Aye. But I can teach you more if you’re interested… Are you cold?” he asks as she rubs at her arms. He can imagine that it must not be very comfortable to wear a strapless dress under any circumstance, even if she does look amazing in it.

“I’ll be fine,” she replies with a sweet smile, though it doesn’t convince him. He moves to his dresser and pulls out one of his jumpers for her to wear, passing it over. Her gaze is full of affection as she looks up at him and then slips it on, and he quickly concludes that she’s never looked more adorable. “Come here,” she murmurs, scooting over on the bed and patting the space beside her. He obliges, and as soon as he does, she leans in to kiss him again.

He thinks he can get used to this – her soft lips on his, her flowery scent making his brain go hazy. She pulls away gently, and he doesn’t realize he’s looking disappointed until she giggles and points it out. “Don’t make that face,” she teases, kissing him again quickly, “I want to learn all about the old gods if you’ll be my teacher.”

His face feels warm as he nods his head. “I’ll most definitely be your teacher. Did you want that popcorn now?”

“I thought you’d forgotten about it,” she jests, “That sounds great. Might as well get it ready before the movie.”

“I wouldn’t forget a promise to you,” he whispers playfully in return, standing up and making his way towards the door, “Make yourself at home. All my DVDS are on that shelf behind you if you want to pick one. I’ll be right back.”

He wishes the trip to the kitchen didn’t entail passing by the living room. He gives his parents a sheepish smile as he passes by them in the hallway, his mum’s face all too telling on how she feels about him and his guest.

He can hear her and his dad talking through the door as he slips a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

_“He’s been acting a bit off lately, like his head has been in the clouds. I guess we know why now. She seems like a polite young lady, and she’s very pretty.”_

_“Aye. I’m happy for him. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, did you notice?”_

His mum laughs. _“Well, she had quite the grip on his arm there. It’s sweet, though I can’t believe our son is old enough to have his first girlfriend.”_

_“Sixteen is a good age, I think. I’m glad he waited this long at least. He’s more particular than most boys. He seems to really like this girl.”_

The kernels start to pop, and he’s almost glad he can’t hear the rest of their conversation over the noise. He grabs a glass of water for himself and Margaery and dumps the popcorn into a bowl when it’s ready, setting them all on a tray to take upstairs.

He nearly drops it all when he opens the door to his bedroom and sees Margaery hastily throw a book to the side that looks very much like his journal. He stares at her for a few seconds and then looks back at the open book, seeing a long paragraph in his handwriting that was most likely waxing lyrical about Margaery’s eyes… or hair… or lips.

“I’m so sorry, Robb!” she speaks up, her brow furrowed, “I accidentally sat on it and then… Curiosity got the better of me.” She trails off, her gaze meeting the ground, “You must think I’m a horrible person now.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t know if I could ever think that,” he admits, placing the tray on his bedside table and taking a seat next to her, “I’m just… embarrassed. There’s a lot of stuff in there that I didn’t really ever want you to see. Hiding it under my pillow probably wasn’t the best idea, but then again I never expected you’d be coming home with me tonight.”

She looks up at him, reaching for his hand then and giving it a soft squeeze. “You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about, trust me. Everything that I glanced over was super endearing.”

“Even the parts where I’m pathetically pining over you?”

“ _Especially_ those parts,” she says with a small giggle, glancing at his journal before her eyes go back to him. “You should have asked me out. I would have said yes in a heartbeat,” she tells him, “I’ve been writing about you in my diary as well.”

His eyes go wide. “You’re lying,” he blurts, the first thing that comes to his mind.

“I wouldn’t lie about that,” she counters, “If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring it over the next time we hang out, and you can read it for yourself.”

“When are we going to hang out again?”

“When are you going to ask me on a proper date?”

“Now,” he answers, his cheeks pink, “What are you doing tomorrow, Margaery?”

“Nothing, Robb,” she says with a laugh that fills him with warmth again, “Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if I could take you on a date. We could visit the heart tree and then take a hike in the woods after… and then maybe compare notes in our journals over hot chocolate when we get back.”

She leans forward and presses her lips to his. “That sounds beyond perfect,” she remarks.

“Good,” he says simply, moving his journal to the shelf above his bed and popping the DVD she picked into his laptop. He settles back against the pillows and opens his arms to her, and she smiles as she snuggles against his chest, curling up against him.

He’s not sure he’ll remember which movie they decided on if anyone asks later on, because truthfully neither of them really watch it. They spend their night exchanging stories and kisses, neither of them making any move to get up from where they are until long after the film ends.

“I should head home before my host family starts to worry,” she notes, a sort of reluctance in her voice as she sits up.

“Let me find my keys, and I’ll drive you there,” he replies, leaning forward for another quick kiss. It feels so natural, as if they’ve been doing this for ages, and yet so surreal at the same time.

She makes to take his jumper off and give it back, but he stops her. “Keep it,” he says, smiling as he watches her cheeks go red.

She straightens it out, looking ridiculously cute in sleeves that are too long for her. “Thank you,” she replies, taking his hand when they stand up from his bed and head to his car.

It takes them a while to say goodbye when they arrive at her host family’s house, kissing each other several more times before he walks her to her door, hugs her, and makes sure she gets inside safely. He feels like he’s walking on air on the way home, almost fearful to go to sleep and wake up to find his whole night was just a dream.

She shows up at his door the next day, though, reassuring him that he hadn’t imagined anything as she’s wearing his oversized sweater and sporting a grin, holding up her diary. He greets her with a delighted laugh and a kiss, letting her store the book in his room so they can come back after their walk to read both his and her entries.

* * *

 

_October 18_

_I wonder if he catches me glancing at him sometimes. I think I have to be fairly obvious. He’s so gorgeous and sweet and smart. I don’t know how he doesn’t have a girlfriend by now, but I should count myself lucky, I suppose. I never met anyone like him in Highgarden. I don’t think people like him exist in Highgarden. The only reason I’m going to the fall dance tonight is in hopes that he’ll ask me to dance with him. For all I know, it could be a shot in the dark, but when he smiles at me and talks to me… I just get this feeling. I hope he feels it too. _


End file.
